Greater Toronto Area - Adult Hockey League

[BlackIce 1]

I am thinking about joining an adult summer league. For those who live in the Toronto Area which league would you recommend ASHL (Adult Safe Hockey League) - playing out of Canlan Etobicoke or True North Playing out of Powerade Centre in Brampton.

[Law Goalie 147]

I would strongly advise against Canlan, for the simple reason that the ice is garbage. Opinions of the ASHL out there seem to be equivocal at best.

I had a couple of friends who were just getting in to hockey who spoke very highly of True North's adult beginner program; can't speak to the rest of the league, though.

My personal choice (if I didn't already have a league) would be the Downtown Men's Hockey League, which plays out of De La Salle, St. Mike's, UCC and the Ricoh (which is, IMO, the second best ice in the city to Lakeshore Lions, but far sexier). The higher levels can get a bit chippy, from what I've experienced, but the lower ones are said to be pretty closely-called and friendly.

[team50 20]

ASHL=expensive

[NuggyBuggy 0]

A lot here depends on what your skill level is.

ASHL can be a mixed bag. A few coaches I know around here laughingly refer to the ASHL as the "Non-safe hockey league". Play can be very chippy, even at the lowest levels, although I have been told that this is sometimes dependent on the particular night you play. I played one season there, and there was a fight every single night, and always about stupid crap. Never heard about a suspension. One has to remember that the ASHL exists largely to fill Canlan's ice times, so they're not very motivated to kick players or teams out. The night I played games were short - 12-10-10 minutes of runtime, if I recall.

True North, especially if you are a lower level player, is IMHO much more professionally run. They have many, many tiers, especially on Sunday, and are good about moving a team up or down depending on skill level. They are stricter with penalties and the organizers seem more vigilant about kicking out the inevitable bad apples. Because a lot of the players get into the league through their beginner's program, play tends to be a lot less chippy. The skill level at the lowest levels of ASHL play is usually much higher than that at even True North's middle levels. The lowest levels of True North will find lots of complete beginners on the ice. On Sundays, the league plays 3x15 minutes of stop-time, which is a lot.

Unfortunately, the ice at the Rinx makes Canlan's facilities look good.

EDIT: My comments above reference the True North league in Toronto, just noticed the OP was looking at Brampton/Etobicoke. The ice at the Powerade center is, IIRC, *much* better than at the Rinx. I have no direct experience with that particular league, though I expect it is likely as well run as the Toronto league.

[k13 0]

What about leagues in and around Mississauga? I just joined ASHL Oakville's beginner league, you guys are starting to make me regret it...

[number18 0]

i played mens league for the first time this past winter and i played Arenapro out of south fletchers in brampton and it was really well run and fair. they are having a summer league too that i've already signed up for, that might be worth a try. they have all levels and are on a bunch of different days through the week and weekends

[automorph 0]

ASHL = chippy at any level (some nights worse than others)

DMHL = decent but city traffic can be annoying

New Direction = decent but Pavilion (407/dufferin) can be a far drive

[BlackIce 1]

First of all I would like to thank everyone for the advice. A few of you mentioned things that I've heard and also things that I've noticed while comparing leagues.

- Skill Level - I am not a total beginner I played house league as a kid and have been just getting back into hockey after a 10 year layoff (I am 39). I've been playing pick-up for the last 2 months an average of once a week to get my conditioning up to par before taking the plunge and joining a league

-ASHL does seem expensive as it's about $350 after you include the dreaded GST, after talking with the rep he did say that even in the lowest tier there is a range of players which I didn't understand, I looked at some of the box scores on-line and many of the games had quite a few penalties

-True North did give me the impression that it would be friendlier for a lower level player, it's also only $285 for the season

A couple more questions.

1) Does anyone have experience joining as an "individual". Unfortunately, I will have to take this route. I've noticed that many of the "individual" teams just suck as they are always at the bottom of the standings in every division. It's like a bunch of pirates/free agents put together to form a team.

2) I know it depends on the particular league. However, my understanding of the tiers are as follows:

A/B- Ex NHL/AHL, Ex Semi-Pro, Ex- OHL, Ex-NCAA, damn good player

C- Upper Level Player - former GTHL/MTHL (AA, AAA) solid player

D- Good Rec Player - House League experience, general understanding of the game

E/F - beginners, just learning the game, with emerging skating skills

Is this generally how the tiers work?

[-knowlzey- 0]

ASHL = chippy at any level (some nights worse than others)

DMHL = decent but city traffic can be annoying

New Direction = decent but Pavilion (407/dufferin) can be a far drive

Tell me about it... I live near Burlington and had practices there once a week, was like a 1 hour, 15 minute drive.

As for the ASHL, my brother playedon an ASHL team in Hamilton last season, along with my cousin, and had no problems with chippiness. I plan to join the team this year as well.

[althoma1 575]

I've played in the ASHL for several years and it can get chippy with some teams. This year the rink I play out of rents out ice for pickup games during prime time hours and then schedules most of the league games really early or really late. This wasn't always the case and several teams complained so hopefully that won't continue. They also only have C,D1,D2,E1, and E2 divisions with no A and B divisions at the Vic Park location. This leads to a situation where you have a lot of guys playing in C and D1 that might be B or even A players at other rinks (I played in a C division out of the Scarborough ASHL league years ago and it was a similar level to D1 at this rink). Plus, there are only two C teams on the night we play so even though our team is a D1 team we have games scheduled against the C teams and although we're a goood D team we just can't compete effectively with the C teams that would likely be very good B or even OK A teams at other rinks.

The ice isn't great at the Vic Park location and the dressing rooms are small, but we play there because it's the most convenient location for the team. Price wise it's pretty competitive with the other leagues we've looked into when you calculate it on a cost per game basis - yes, it's more than True North in the summer, but you get a few more games so the cost per game is very similar.

I played True North Hockey at the Toronto location several summers ago. It was generally a cleaner game than the ASHL. They also seem to do a better job scheduling and adjusting the divisions for skill levels. When I was there I played in one of the higher divisions and the level was about right for me - competitive, but no ex-pros or Junior superstars. I would say that the skill in the higher ASHL divisions is generally higher than the True North league. There were also far less miss match games - in the ASHL you don't always play within your division, but with True North you do after they've adjusted the divisions (the first few weeks there may be some mismatches, but they're good about correcting the situation). The ice wasn't great either and the benches on Rink 1 seem like they were built for tykes as it was a tight fit with even 10 adults.

My team did look into New Direction at the Pavillion as we heard great things about the facility quality, but in the end didn't move there because the location wasn't as convenient. The price seems competitive with other leagues in the GTA and the guy who runs it, Art Beavis, was helpful and responsive when we asked questions. They have divisions that range from very high to beginner levels.

I hadn't heard of the DTMHL until this thread. It sounds interesting, but I'd be concerned about dealing with the downtown traffic and possibly having to cover parking costs for places like Ricoh. I don't know if they make you pay for parking when you play, but I know when you go to watch an AHL game that parking isn't super cheap.

[althoma1 575]

1) Does anyone have experience joining as an "individual". Unfortunately, I will have to take this route. I've noticed that many of the "individual" teams just suck as they are always at the bottom of the standings in every division. It's like a bunch of pirates/free agents put together to form a team.

2) I know it depends on the particular league. However, my understanding of the tiers are as follows:

A/B- Ex NHL/AHL, Ex Semi-Pro, Ex- OHL, Ex-NCAA, damn good player

C- Upper Level Player - former GTHL/MTHL (AA, AAA) solid player

D- Good Rec Player - House League experience, general understanding of the game

E/F - beginners, just learning the game, with emerging skating skills

1) I do have experience with signing up as an individual and it can be OK. It takes some time to get a feel for the players on your team, but while most of the top teams in each division are teams that have played together for a while not all individual teams are terrible. The one problem with individual teams is that people may not know which division they should be playing in so some players end up playing in a division that's either too easy or too challenging for them. I was lucky enough to be put on a solid individual team several years ago for ice and have been playing with several of them on an organized team ever since. For roller I've just been playing on individual teams for the past several years and have been on some good and bad ones...there are no gurantees with throw together teams, but it's not always bad.

2) This really varies by league/facility, but this is how I'd break it down from my experience

A - Is supposed to be for highly skilled players - ex-pro, Junior, College ect.

B- Similar to A, but a few buddies may be on the team that aren't super stars, however; even the weaker players in this division will be solid overall players.

C- Still skilled and challenging overall, but usually if there is a roster of 12 guys 3 or 4 will be super stars that could have or do play in higher divisions, but play down to play with friends, 3 or 4 will be good players and 3 or 4 will be average players that are playing a bit over their heads, but are playing in this league because the team needed to fill out the roster or they just wanted to play with their buddies.

D - You'll still get a player or two on each team that can/are playing at higher levels, but are playing down to play with friends (or get a ton of points and stroke their egos) along with mostly solid players and a few weaker ones.

E/F - Again, while these divisions are aimed at new/weaker players you will still see some very good players in these divisions simply to play with friends.

Based on what you've said I'd probably recommend starting in a D2 or E1 division for your first season of Men's league and then going up or down from there depending on how it goes. It'll also depend on the facility you choose - if you talk to the person running the league and describe your level of players they should be able to recommend an appropriate divsion. Some leagues also offer different age brackets, but I haven't looked into them yet.

[adcool17 0]

I have played out of the ASHL in etobicoke for a while. It can be extreamly chippy, it all depends on what night you play and who you play against. I have never seen or had a fight there. For all but 1 season I have played there have been on an individual team. From my experiance you have 2 options. 1 you can ask to be put on a team that has been together for a whlie, and is just short a couple of guys for the season. This way you have a choice of what divison you can play in. There just has to be teams looking for players other wise you are sol. 2 you can be put on a team of other individuals. The problems I have had with this is the skill level on the team can vary alot from person to person. This can either be good or bad depending on how you look at it. From what past team mates have told me, they usualy have been out of hockey for sometime and have been getting back into things.

I have played 1 season at True North out of Rinks. Not a very good facility at all, and even worse in the summer. The league is operated alot more efficently in my opinion. I signed up as an individual that 1 season again. The first game there was the league manager directing people to were they need to be, and he was in our room making sure everyone was there and handing out jerseys, socks, appointing a team rep, ect. Which has never happned at the ASHL. The games are alot cleaner, and just alot more friendlier. As and individual you do have the same options as the ASHL with asking to be put on a team, or joining a team full of individuals. I would assume that they would operate the same if not similar out of poweraid. I do play alot out of poweraid and their facilities are alot better than Canlan, and Rinks. The skill level in the ASHL is higher then at Truenorth, from what I have experianced. I have also heard that the True North out of Rinks have their games once in a while at RICOH.

When looking at the price you should also look at how many games you get. I know in the summer True North offers 3 less games than the ASHL which is apart of the price difference.

[automorph 0]

watch out for ashl "individual" teams.....sometimes they LOAD up on players as they make alot of $$$ on it.....everytime we play they had like 18 players on the bench maybe more

ashl level ranking varies facility and night....from what I know :

ASHL Oakville has no beginner level, even E divisions are decent/chippy players

Sunday night D division is pretty good hockey

TrueNorth/ New Direction seems to be logical choice especially for beginners/and people who dont need the bullshit

I am trying Streetsville/Vic Johnson Over 30 league this summer......hopefully decent league

[NuggyBuggy 0]

When looking at the price you should also look at how many games you get. I know in the summer True North offers 3 less games than the ASHL which is apart of the price difference.

One should also consider how long the periods are and whether or not they are run-time or not. I played a season at the ASHL during the week, and we played 12-10-10 run time. Couple that with refs who always seemed to be in a rush to get home, and there were periods where I literally got on the ice once. Not sure what the ASHL does on Sundays, but I played several seasons at True North (Sundays) where we played 3 15-minute stop time periods. Even if the ASHL ran a little cheaper, I'd rather pay the extra money and play in the more professionally run True North league. True North's ice can be pretty bad, esp in the summer. Played more than a few games where there were big puddles for half of the first period.

However, it was Canlan's Vic Park facility which I believe has been voted worst rink in the GTA - forget puddles on the ice, there were frequently puddles in the changerooms from the toilets and urinals which were perpetually overflowing.

[althoma1 575]

NuggyBuggy Posted Today, 09:49 PM

QUOTE (adcool17 @ Apr 18 2009, 07:40 PM)

When looking at the price you should also look at how many games you get. I know in the summer True North offers 3 less games than the ASHL which is apart of the price difference.

One should also consider how long the periods are and whether or not they are run-time or not. I played a season at the ASHL during the week, and we played 12-10-10 run time. Couple that with refs who always seemed to be in a rush to get home, and there were periods where I literally got on the ice once. Not sure what the ASHL does on Sundays, but I played several seasons at True North (Sundays) where we played 3 15-minute stop time periods. Even if the ASHL ran a little cheaper, I'd rather pay the extra money and play in the more professionally run True North league. True North's ice can be pretty bad, esp in the summer. Played more than a few games where there were big puddles for half of the first period.

However, it was Canlan's Vic Park facility which I believe has been voted worst rink in the GTA - forget puddles on the ice, there were frequently puddles in the changerooms from the toilets and urinals which were perpetually overflowing.

Vic Park has improved over the years, but it's still not great. They did replace the cooling systems on both pads and there are no spots you can see through the cement anymore like there were a few years ago. There are no problems I've noticed with overflowing toilets and there actually is hot water for showers (unlike a few years ago), but the rooms are still small and the ice isn't great. 12-10-10 is right, but it's stop time unless the goal differential is 5 or more. I agree that the refs do seem like they are in a hurry to get home as they don't blow the whistle unless they feel they absolutely have to - icings are very rarely called. I do agree that True North seems to be better managed when comparing it to Vic Park so I don't disagree with your recommendation for True North as long as it's a convenient location for the player.

[IrishHockey 0]

thank you for posting this thread!!!!!!!!1 im moving to toronto this july for a year to play as much hockey as is humanely possible at a higher level and i figured canada,obvious choice.iv been playing hockey for two years ,im reasonably ok considering how long iv been playing.As i know about 3 people in toronto id love some advice on a organised league i could possibly play in and where to go for pickup and stuff.this year i played in world champs. div. 3 for ireland(yes we have a national team) nd got zero icetime and my goal is to improve my skills to come back next year and score some goals lol :D :D thanks guys

[althoma1 575]

IrishHockey Posted Yesterday, 10:55 PM

thank you for posting this thread!!!!!!!!1 im moving to toronto this july for a year to play as much hockey as is humanely possible at a higher level and i figured canada,obvious choice.iv been playing hockey for two years ,im reasonably ok considering how long iv been playing.As i know about 3 people in toronto id love some advice on a organised league i could possibly play in and where to go for pickup and stuff.this year i played in world champs. div. 3 for ireland(yes we have a national team) nd got zero icetime and my goal is to improve my skills to come back next year and score some goals lol thanks guys

Check out the Hockey Toronto website. You will always be able to find pickup games there. You will also have opportunities to play outdoor shinny in the winter and those same rinks are usually available to skate on with roller blades in the summer (sometimes they will be empty and other times they'll be in use by others for ball or ice games, but most people will let you join in and play if it isn't a league game). For the winter schedules and rink listings check out City of Toronto: Ice skating. I can't say much more about the different men's leagues available that hasn't been mentioned in the thread already.

[Law Goalie 147]

Hockey Toronto is a great resource. I can say with a certain knowing humour that Bruce is relentless in trying to get two goalies out for every one of those pickup games. The level of play isn't generally all that good, but he does keep in touch with a few higher-end skates around town.

[Zamboni 6]

There are some very good calibre community run men's leagues in Toronto along with the big commercial leagues already mentioned. Depending where you end up living IrishHockey I may have some recomendations/contact....pm me when & where you will be.

Even shinny, out east we have some full equipment informal ice thats great calibre, all ex JR and above players. There are also some good industrial leagues in the GTA where chippy play isn't tolerated. Canlan ASHL in Oshawa is well run compared to the Toronto leagues, good local refs. Amazed to hear fighting is tolerated anywhere as teams need players/its a business whatever....that policy is shortsighted and will cost leagues far more players than the 1 not suspended.

[Law Goalie 147]

Huh... I had thought the industrial leagues had gradually died off. I know there's a pretty low-level musicians'/artists' league still going, and a couple out in the Beaches. My impression was that most of the industry-centred organisations had devolved into tournament hosts.

Finding those good skates can be challenging; it's also worth making contacts with the better players, since they do tend to migrate around a fair bit. If I were IrishHockey, I would definitely take Zamboni up on that offer.

[IrishHockey 0]

hey thanks guys il definitely get in touch im hoping to arrive in july and im not sure where il be living i have a friend who plays in vaughn and i may try and get accomodation near there.thanks and i forgot to say earlier im 19

[W.Heinle 0]

I started with TNH in their beginner program and have been playing there ever since. I also tried ASHL Oakville one summer but didn't enjoy it as much as it was a lot more chippier as mentioned above.

ASHL will make a team of individuals where as TNH will find you and existing team.

The Brampton facility is no comparison to the Rinx.

Let us know where and what night you end up with, we might play each other ;)

[BlackIce 1]

I would just like to thank you guys for taking the time to help me decide. Your advice was excellent. I signed up for the True North Hockey League and was placed on an existing team. Unfortunately, due to my indecisiveness I registered late and was placed in a very low tier as what I wanted was unavailable. Once again, thanks guys. The season starts next week. Boy am I stoked.

[W.Heinle 0]

I would just like to thank you guys for taking the time to help me decide. Your advice was excellent. I signed up for the True North Hockey League and was placed on an existing team. Unfortunately, due to my indecisiveness I registered late and was placed in a very low tier as what I wanted was unavailable. Once again, thanks guys. The season starts next week. Boy am I stoked.

B) Just out of curiosity, what team did you end up on ?

[Cove 38]

I believe York University does an intermural deal that allows teams of non-student and staff to play. Its about a grand per team tho, and to rent jerseys is $200 something. The games are played at Canlan York A.K.A The Beatrice Ice Gardens A.K.A Ice Gardens at Jane and steeles